Slicing machine construction



Nov. 2, 1937. L, FEREQC. 2,097,875

SLICING MACHINE CONSTRUCTION Original Filed April 29, 1931 INVENTOR PM ATORNEY Patented Nov. 2, 1937 PATENT OFFECE SLICING MACHINE CONSTRUCTIONLester Ferenci, Brooklyn,

N. Y., assignor to American Machine & Foundry Company, a corporation ofNew Jersey Original application April 29, 1931, Serial No. 533,829.Divided and this application July 3,

1935, Serial No. 29,688

3 Claims.

This invention relates to a slicing machine construction, particularlyone for cutting loaves of bread into individual slices, as per examplein connection with a bread wrapping machine. This applicationconstitutes a division of my copending application Serial No. 533,829,filed April 29, 1931, entitled Slicing attachment for bread wrappingmachines.

The principal object of the invention is to provide an improved mountingfor the slicer blades, and in particular to provide for quick andconvenient removal of the slicer blades in slicing machines of thistype.

Another object is to provide an improved slicer blade for bread slicersand the like which will more rigidly and securely hold the blade andwill lend itself to the ready detachment above referred to.

To these ends, it is a feature of the invention to provide a slicerblade having a rigid pin or lug projecting from the blade and adapted tobe received in grooved lugs in the slicer frame, and also to providesaid blade with an aperture furnishing a transverse surface forengagement with a special tool which may be hooked into engagement withsaid surface to detach and replace blades. To facilitate this operationand also to keep the blades at the proper tension, the blades at theirlower ends are resiliently mounted.

With these and other objects not specifically mentioned in View, theinvention consists in certain constructions and combinations which willbe hereinafter fully described and then specifically set forth in theclaims hereunto appended.

In the accompanying drawing in which like characters of referenceindicate the same or like parts,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, illustrating the improvedslicing machine construction;

Figs. 2 and 3 are detail views in side elevation showing the improvedblade mount and method of removing blades; and

Fig. 4 is a detail view in front elevation of the parts shown in Figs. 2and 3.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawing, the frame I0 supports a motor l Ihaving shaft extensions I3 on which are mounted eccentrics having aneccentric rod 52 driving the slicer frame l8 and an eccentric rod 53driving the slicer frame 25. In the arrangement shown in Fig. 1, theslicer frames l8 and 25 are driven by an eccentric on one side of eachslicer frame. The eccentric rod 52 is pivotally connected with theslicer frame l8 by means of a bar It having a nut threaded thereon whichalso holds eccentric rod 53 and frame I8 to a guide lever 20 mounted ona shaftZl supported in bearings of frame In. The upper end of frame i8is pivoted to a pair of spaced swing levers 23 which are loosely mountedon a shaft 24 carried in bearing brackets of supporting frame ID.

The eccentric rod 53 is pivoted tov the lower end of a second slicerframe 25 by means of a bolt 26 which also holds eccentric rod 53 andframe 25 to a guide lever 21 mounted on a shaft 28 supported in bearingsof supporting frame In. Similarly, the upper end of frame 25 issupported by a pair of spaced levers 29 at either side of said framepivoted on the shaft 24,

Both slicer frames l8 and 25 are equipped at their upper ends with bladesupporting lugs 30 and carry at their lower ends tension levers 3| witheach of which engages a tension spring 32 fastened to the respectiveframe. Knife or saw blades 33 having pins 34 and 35 are placed into theframes l8 and 25, the upper pins 34 resting in grooves of the supportinglugs 30 while the lower pins 35 engage with grooves in the tensionlevers 3| so that each blade has the proper permanent longitudinaltension.

Above their upper pins, the saw blades 33 are provided with a hole 36 bywhich it is possible to insert or remove the blades in an easy andconvenient manner by means of a special tool, as shown in Figs. 2, 3,and 4, consisting of a sickleshaped lever having a sidewardly projectingpin at its working end. For the removal of a blade from either frame,the end of tool 31 is placed with its convex side on top of the slicerframe and with its pin 38 in engagement with the hole 36 of blade 33, asshown in Fig. 2, when movement of lever 31 in the direction of the arrowlifts pin 34 out of lug 30 and pushes blade 33 outward at the same time,thus unlocking it from its slicer frame.

To insert a new blade, the curved end of the tool 31, with the new blade33 suspended from the pin 38 thereof, upon hooking the lower pin of theblade into the groove of its tension lever, is placed with the concaveside upon the slicer frame, as shown in Fig. 3, when movement of lever37 in the direction of the arrow lifts the blade and draws it inward sothat its upper pin 34 engages with the groove of lug 30 upon releasingthe tool.

The construction of the slicer frames [8 and 25 permits the closeapproach of two sets of blades which avoids the tendency to rotate theloaf about its longitudinal axis when the oppositely moving sets ofblades are spaced sufficiently to engage Cir the loaf behind and infront of its longitudinal axis during its passage through the blades.The blades on one frame are staggered the thickness of one slice withrespect to blades on the other frame and the blades on each frame arespaced the thickness of two slices. With this arrangement, the advantageis gained that the side pressure of the blades in each set caused bycompression of the slices due to the thickness of the blades, issustained by the thickness of two slices of bread, thus eliminatingcrooked or uneven cuts. Another advantage of this arrangement is thatthe friction of the knives in the loaf and, therefore, the powerconsumption is greatly decreased. This may be explained as due to thediminished compression of the slices.

With respect to the formshown in Figs. 1-4 it should be noted that inorder to reduce Vibration and thus make possible greater speed andoutput, the two frames !8 and 25 are oppositely reciprocated so thatthey counterbalance each other. For the same reason oppositely disposedeccentrics lita and i321 are connected to each of the side frames asshown. jWhile the eccentrics are substantially opposite, their centers13c and l3d vary from diametric opposition by an angle approximatelyequal to the angle between the diverging eccentric rods 52 and 53 equal,in the embodiment illustrated, to- 19 degrees. This is done in orderthat the one frame shall start down at the exact moment that the otherframe starts up as instead of 19 degrees after as would be the case ifthe diverging direction of thrust of the eccentric rods were not ta eninto account. Thus, the reciprocating movements of the frames andconnecting rods to each frame are equal and opposite and coincident astov time, producing the conditions most favorable to eliminatingvibration.

As shown inFigs. 2, 3, and 4, the pins 3:3 are cross pins projecting toeither side of the plane of the fiat slicer blade 33 and the pins 3tengage in spaced lugs 30 to either side of the plane of the slicerblade.

What is claimed is:

1. A knife blade for bread slicing machines comprising a thin fiatelongated body with a sharpened edge, having cross pins rigidly fixed inthe blade near each end thereof and extending substantially at rightangles to the plane of the blade to either side thereof for securing thesame to a knife support having spaced lugs for supporting the pins ateither side of the blade so as to prevent pivoting of the bladetransversely of its plane adjacent the pins, said blade having anaperture adjacent one end of the blade in the portion of the bladebetween the end of the blade and the pin nearest said end, forengagement with a blade removing or replacing tool.

2. A knife blade for bread slicing machines comprising a thin fiatelongated body with a sharpened edge intermediate the ends thereof, andhaving unsharpened end portions, cross pins rigidly fixed in said bladeat the unsharpened end portions thereof, one of said pins being spaced aI greater distance from the end of the blade than the other, said pinsextending substantially at right angles to the plane of the blade oneither side thereof for securing the same to spaced lugs at either sideof the blade so as to prevent lateral pivoting thereof, said bladehaving a hole through the portion of the blade between the blade end andthe pin which is at a greater distance from said blade-end forfacilitating blade removal.

3. A knife blade for bread slicing machines comprising, a thin, fiat,elongated body with a sharpened edge, having cross pins rigidly fixed inthe blade in each end portion thereof, and extending substantially atright angles to the plane of the blade to either side thereof forsecuring the blade in operative position in a knife support havingspaced lugs for supporting the pins at either side of the blade so as toprevent pivoting of the blade transversely of its plane adjacent thepins, said blade having an aperture'in an end portion near the end ofthe blade and adjacent the pin in said portion, said aperture providingmeans for engagement by a tool for replacement or removal of said blade.

LESTER. FERENCI.

